The Truth About Tax Deductions

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Now that tax season is upon us, many people look for ways to reduce their taxes (hopefully most of you took advantage of some tax deductions before the end of the year!). There is usually a mad rush to claim all of the deductions one can in order to reduce their tax liability. But are tax deductions really worth it?

Before getting into this discussion, I need to make a clarification between a tax credit and a tax deduction. Too often, people confuse the two and think they are equally as good. But, this isn’t the truth.

What Is A Tax Credit

A tax credit reduces the amount of income tax you have to pay and it is a dollar for dollar match. For example, the lifetime learning credit, which is currently $2,000 reduces your income tax by that $2,000.

What Is A Tax Deduction

A tax deduction is an amount of money that lowers your tax liability by reducing your taxable income. For example, student loan interest can be written off of you taxable income, thus reducing your tax liability.

Why Credits Are Better

If you are like many reading this, you may still be confused about what the difference is between the two. Don’t worry, as taxes are a complex topic and credits and deductions are as well. The key as to why credits are better is for the dollar for dollar match they provide. A tax deduction on the other hand, only reduces your taxable income and thus your tax liability proportionally, depending on the tax bracket you are in. let’s look at both of these in action to help you better understand.

Real Life Example

John makes $50,000 per year. This puts him squarely in the 25% tax bracket. As he is determining his taxes, he realizes he paid $2,000 in student loan interest last year, thus he gets a tax deduction. How much is his tax deduction? It is not $2,000. His tax deduction is the $2,000 in student loan interest he paid multiplied by the 25% tax bracket he is in. John can deduct $500 from his taxes (2,000 x 0.25). So, at the end of the day, John now has a taxable income of $49,500 (his original $50,000 less the $500 student loan deduction).

Mary on the other hand, also makes $50,000 per year and is in the 25% tax bracket. She does not have any student loans to reduce her taxes. However, there was a program this year where if you bought a “green” appliance, you could take a credit for the amount of the appliance on your taxes, up to $1,000. Mary bought an energy efficient dishwasher that qualifies. It cost her $1,000. Because this is a credit, Mary can credit her taxable income by $1,000 (the amount she paid for the appliance). At the end of the day, Mary now has $49,000 in taxable income (her original $50,000 less the $1,000 credit).

Hopefully this shows you that any deduction you claim on your tax return only reduces your tax liability by the tax bracket you are in. If you are in the 25% tax bracket, every dollar you spend that is eligible for a deduction allows you to write off $0.25 of that dollar on your taxes. If you are in the 10% tax bracket, $0.10 of every dollar you spend that is eligible for a deduction will go towards reducing your tax liability.

With that said, the IRS realizes that the more money people make, the less they need the help of many of the tax credits and deductions. Therefore, many of them are phased out as your income increases. This means at an eventual income amount, you will not be able to take the write off.

Why Deductions Are Misleading

Even though you are getting a tax deduction, are you really saving any money? So many people argue that you should take your time paying off your student loans because the interest you pay is tax deductible. That is true, but not every dollar. At most it’s $0.33 of every dollar because any higher of an income will phase out most credits and deductions.

Added to that, most credits and deductions have a limit on the maximum amount you can benefit from. If you don’t earn too much and can claim the deduction, you can only deduct up to $2,500 in a year in student loan interest.

Revisiting the example of John above, he is “saving” $0.25 of every dollar in student loan interest he pays on his taxes. I will grant you that it is better than nothing, but wouldn’t you rather pay off the loan and be able to save or invest 100% of the money instead?

To put another way, in the end he paid $1,500 in student loan interest after taking the $500 deduction on his taxes. Since when is it OK to pay $1,500 in interest?

I am all for saving as much as you can on your taxes, which is why you need to think long and hard when choosing to do your taxes yourself or hiring a pro. But don’t be misled thinking that you are better off milking your student loans just so you get a write off on your taxes. For most people, this write off will only come to a few hundred dollars. You’d be better served by paying off your student loans quickly and investing the money into a retirement account so it can grow.

Remember, deductions are nice, but credits are better. And just because you can deduct something from your taxes doesn’t mean it is the best use of your money.

Related

Comments

The funny thing is that deductions and credits are probably some of the simpler parts of the tax code.

Although as a general rule I would be wary of any situation where you have to spend money in order to get a tax break. You might be better off not spending the money in the first place.My Financial Independence Journey recently posted..Wisconsin Energy Corp (WEC) Dividend Stock Analysis

It’s definitely wise to ensure the fine print with deductions, my sister got done over here when she had deductions on an investment property. My advice is to keep all reciepts!Mary Rhodes recently posted..4 dumb reasons why people take a loan out

Great explanation of the two! I now it confuses a lot of people. Deductions can be a good thing, but like you said I’d much rather pay off that student loan to free up my money.John S @ Frugal Rules recently posted..You Bought That at Walmart?!

I always keep all my receipts, practically to the point of obsession! Tax can be confusing so great timing with the article…yet again.Finance Inspired recently posted..Avoiding Debt: A Holiday Challenge

This was so going to be my post for Friday, and you beat me to it. Very good information. I know that credits are better,but still get confused on what is a credit and what is a deduction. Very good and simple explanations. I like the personal examples.[email protected] recently posted..Credit Cards Are Giving Me a Free Vacation

Taxes are never a reason to make any financial decision, with the exception of donating to charity. You shouldn’t need a reason to donate, but if donating $1,000 means you get $400 of that back when you file, then you might as well donate $1,667 and get back $667 when you file. More money donated makes you look really good!Daniel recently posted..Concerns Define The Middle Class

This is one of the arguments for not eliminating or phasing out the charitable deduction. Many charities claim that many people will not donate without the tax incentive to do so. I’d like to think people would still donate, regardless if they save money on taxes or not.

That was a great break down. So when you claim dependents how does that work? I don’t have any kids and claim zero dependents and a LOT gets taken out of my check towards taxes and my friend claims 10 dependents and only gets $12 taken out of his pay check?? But at the end of the year will he owe more to the IRS anyways? I’d rather owe nothing to the IRS at the end of the year (by paying them out of each paycheck; I’d hate to find out I owed them and wasn’t expecting it) but I also don’t want to be paying them money I don’t have to. Do you know what I mean?julia @ howmuchcost.org recently posted..How Much Do Greeting Cards Cost?

Great question! Claiming dependents will reduce the amount of taxes that are taken out of your paycheck. But, it you don’t claim a correct number, then you could end up owning much more or less come April 15th. Personally, when I was single and owned my own home, without kids, I claimed 2 dependents. Why? Since I could deduct my mortgage interest from my taxes, I was going to get a huge refund. By claiming more dependents, I reduced the amount of taxes I paid each week. In effect, I went from getting a huge refund to getting a small refund. I chose to get my money back in each paycheck instead of 1 big refund check from the IRS.

The point that a tax deduction only saves you a portion of the amount on your taxes is something that is lost to many. But every little bit helps, right? 🙂 I think a lot of people could use some education as to what is tax deductible, and what is not.Travis @enemyofdebt recently posted..Debt and Cleaning

Every little bit does help, but you also have to look at the bigger picture. Why spend $0.75 in interest to save $0.25 when you could just pay off student loans quicker and save an entire $1.00?Jon recently posted..Motif Investing Review: A Game Changer For Investors

I just wish there’s no tax deductions. Honestly, after reading your post, I don’t have questions on tax deductions but I have some on how our government uses it for us.Jayson @ Monster Piggy Bank recently posted..New House Update

That’s the think I have trouble with when it comes to taxes. I am all for paying taxes for the better of everyone, but the mismanaging of our tax dollars makes me question why I pay in the first place. The people in Washington seem to be inept at handling money. I’d love to look at their personal finances!Jon recently posted..What I Learned Managing $500 Million Dollars

Definitely agree on the deceptiveness on tax deductions. They should be called income deductions since they primarily decrease your income and only slightly decrease your taxes.

You might want to clarify your tax credit example. You say the $1000 decreases her income from $50k to $49k but I think you many to state her tax owed and decrease that by $1000.Jack @ Enwealthen recently posted..Get Paid For Your Opinion In A Focus Group

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